London - A teenage loner was yesterday convicted at the Old Bailey of attempting to murder a young woman from Northern Ireland by plunging a five-inch hunting knife into her head during a train journey.
Robert Buckland (18), of no fixed address, was remanded for psychiatric reports and sentencing until February 13th. Buckland said he had intended to snatch Ms Alison Kennedy's handbag, but had stabbed her in the skull in a rush of anger. Ms Kennedy (28), a charity worker with the Multiple Sclerosis Society, miraculously survived the attack. She is due to have surgery again on February 1st.
Buckland had admitted wounding Ms Kennedy, who was on the Waterloo to Guildford train in March last year, and was a complete stranger to him. He denied attempted murder.